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Pittsburgh, PA — February 21, 2013: City of Asylum/Pittsburgh today announced that Román Antopolsky, a poet, novelist and translator, has won the 2013 City of Asylum/Pittsburgh Prize.

Antopolsky was chosen from a pool of writer-applicants, residents of Western Pennsylvania aged 30 and over, who have published at least one full-length book of poetry, fiction, or non-fiction. The 2013 City of Asylum/Pittsburgh prize consists of a month-long, all-expenses-paid writing residency in Brussels, Belgium. Applications were judged by the PEN and Pushcart award-winning poet Toi Derricotte, Professor of English at the University of Pittsburgh and co-founder of Cave Canem: a Home for Black Poetry.

The Prize is part of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh’s Bridges initiative, which will create a number of international writer residencies for Western Pennsylvania writers. This residency is a collaboration with the Belgian literary organization, Het beschrijf, and is hosted at the Passa Porta literary center in Brussels.

In selecting Antopolsky, Toi Derricotte stated, “I was especially impressed with the beauty and power of his language and formal construction and his ability to break down barriers to identification with and compassion for his characters. His writing drew me in at a human level.”

“I’m pleased and proud to announce Román Antopolsky has won our 2013 prize,” said Henry Reese, Co-founder and President of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh. “We received many impressive and eminently well-qualified applications, which included poetry, prose, and drama. Román’s writing, and his immersion in international literature, mean that he will be able to use his residency in Belgium to his artistic advantage, but I also feel that he reflects well on the literary community of our city and represents the values of City of Asylum/Pittsburgh in a special way.”

About Román Antopolsky
A native of Buenos Aires, Argentina, Antopolsky has published three books of poetry and one book of prose. His translations of literature and philosophy from Russian, German, French, English, Portuguese, and Romanian have appeared in journals across the Americas. His own writing has been translated into English and Portuguese. He is also a visual artist. Antopolsky, who grew up speaking both Russian and Spanish, studied Philosophy at the Universidad de Buenos Aires and Fine Arts at the Instituto Nacional del Arte in the same city. He will use his residency in Brussels to conduct research for, and to continue writing, a novel-in-progress.

About City of Asylum/Pittsburgh
Founded in 2004, City of Asylum/Pittsburgh fosters freedom of expression, social justice and community development through our writer residencies, publications, and literary programs. From our home on Pittsburgh’s Northside, City of Asylum’s programs and activities impact people on our street, in our city, and around the world. We publish Sampsonia Way magazine: the online journal of free speech, literature and justice, it serves a growing global community online. City of Asylum/Pittsburgh is a model for arts-based community development, bringing writers, readers and neighbors together through literature and cultural exchange.

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City of Asylum creates a thriving community for writers, readers, and neighbors. We provide sanctuary to endangered literary writers, and offer a broad range of literary programs in a community setting to encourage cross-cultural exchange.